El Norte Grande

We’ve compiled the best of the best in El Norte Grande - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.

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  • 1. Cerros Pintados

    The amazing Cerros Pintados, the largest group of geoglyphs in the world, within the Reserva Nacional Pampa del Tamarugal are well worth a detour. These figures, which scientists believe helped ancient peoples navigate the desert, date from AD 500 to 1400. They are also quite enormous—some of the figures are decipherable only from the air. Drawings of men wearing ponchos were probably intended to point out the route to the coast to the llama caravans coming from the Andes. More than 400 figures of birds, animals, and geometric patterns adorn this 4-km (3-mile) stretch of desert.

    1100000, Chile
    57-275–1055

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: 4000 pesos
  • 2. Geysers del Tatio

    The world's highest geothermal field, the Geysers del Tatio is a breathtaking natural phenomenon. The sight of dozens of geysers throwing columns of steam into the air is unforgettable. A trip to El Tatio usually begins at 4 or 5 am, on a guided tour, when San Pedro is still cold and dark (any of the tour agencies in San Pedro can arrange this trip). After a two-hour bus ride on a relentlessly bumpy road, you reach the high plateau around daybreak. (The entrance fee is covered if you are on a tour, otherwise it is 15,000 pesos.) The jets of steam are already shooting into the air as the sun slowly peeks over the adjacent cordillera. The rays of light illuminate the steam in a kaleidoscope of chartreuses, violets, reds, oranges, and blues. The vapor then silently falls onto the sulfur-stained crust of the geyser field. As the sun heats the cold, barren land, the visibility and force of the geysers gradually diminish, allowing you to explore the mud pots and craters formed by the escaping steam. Be careful, though—the crust is thin in places and people have died falling into the boiling-hot water.

    Geysers El Tatio, San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta, 1410000, Chile

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: 15000 pesos
  • 3. Gigante de Atacama

    The world's largest anthropomorphic geoglyph, the Gigante de Atacama, measures an incredible 86 meters (282 feet). The Giant of the Atacama is a depiction of a giant man, perhaps an Incan chief or shaman, that with his square head looks a bit like a video game space alien. It is adorned with a walking staff, a cat mask, and a feathered headdress that resembles rays of light bursting from his head. The exact age of the figure is unknown, but it certainly hails from before the arrival of the Spanish, perhaps around AD 900. The geoglyph, which is on a hill, is best viewed just before dusk, when the long shadows make the outline clearer.

    Chile
    No phone

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free
  • 4. Humberstone

    One of the last nitrate plants in the region, Humberstone closed in 1960 after operating for nearly 100 years. Now it's a ghost town where ancient machines creak and groan in the wind. You can wander through the central square and along the streets of the company town, where almost all of the original buildings survive. The theater, with its rows of empty seats, is particularly eerie. Take the time to explore beyond the residential area, heading out into the desert where the machines lie rusting in the wind.

    Iquique, Tarapacá, 1100000, Chile

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: 4000 pesos
  • 5. Lago Chungará

    A contender for the best viewpoint in Chile, this roadside lake sits on the Bolivian border at an amazing altitude of 4,600 m (15,100 feet) above sea level. Volcán Parinacota, at 6,330 m (20,889 feet), casts its shadow onto the lake's glassy surface. Hundreds of flamingos make their home here. There is a CONAF-run office at Lago Chungará on the highway just before the lake.

    Chile
    No phone

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free
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  • 6. Lagunas Cotacotani

    About 8 km (5 miles) east of Parinacota is the beautiful Laguna Cotacotani, which means "land of many lakes" in the Quechua language. This string of ponds—surrounded by a desolate moonscape formed by volcanic eruptions—attracts many species of bird, including Andean geese. 

    Chile
  • 7. Mano del Desierto

    About 60 km (37 miles) southeast of Antofagasta via Ruta 5, this giant hand sculpture rises 36 feet tall from the Atacama Desert like a mirage. It was created in 1992 by famed sculptor Mario Irarrázabal, the same artist who created the Monumento al Ahogado hand sculpture in Punta del Este, Uruguay. It's best visited early in the morning or at sunset, when you can see the hand reaching out of the earth into the rays of the Andean sun. You can't miss the Mano from the highway, and a dirt trail leads off the main road toward it. Be sure to park at a respectful distance to ensure other visitors can also enjoy the sculpture.

    Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile
  • 8. Museo Arqueológico de San Miguel de Azapa

    A visit here is a must for anyone who travels to El Norte Grande. In an 18th-century olive oil refinery, this museum houses an impressive collection of artifacts from the cultures of the Chinchorros (a coastal people) and Tijuanacotas (a group that lived in the antiplano). Of particular interest are the Chinchorro mummies, the oldest in the world, dating to 6000 BC. The incredibly well-preserved mummies are arranged on beds behind thick glass. They have a great presence, and to look into their expressive faces is to glimpse into a history that spans more than 8,000 years. The tour ends at an olive press that functioned until 1956, a reminder of the still thriving industry in the surrounding valley. The museum is a short drive from Arica. You can also make the 20-minute journey by colectivo from Patricio Lynch for about 1,200 pesos.

    Arica, Arica y Parinacota, 1000000, Chile
    58-220–5555

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: 2000 pesos
  • 9. Museo del Mar

    This museum houses a well-maintained and colorful collection of more than 1,000 seashells and oceanic oddities from around the world. The owner has traveled the globe for more than 30 years to bolster his collection, which includes specimens from Africa, Asia, and you guessed it—Arica.

    Pasaje Sangra 315, Arica, Arica y Parinacota, 1000000, Chile

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: 3000 pesos, Closed Sun.
  • 10. Parinacota

    Within the park, off Ruta 11, is the altiplano village of Parinacota, one of the most beautiful in all of Chile. In the center of the village, among houses made of adobe with thatched roofs, sits the whitewashed Iglesia Parinacota, dating from 1789. Inside are murals depicting sinners and saints and a mysterious "walking table," which parishioners have chained to the wall for fear that it will steal away in the night. An interesting Aymara cultural commentary can be found in the Stations of the Cross, which depict Christ's tormenters not as Roman soldiers, but as Spanish conquistadors. Opposite the church you'll find crafts stalls run by Aymara women in the colorful shawls and bowler hats worn by many altiplano women. Only 18 people live in the village, but many more make a pilgrimage here for annual festivals such as the Fiesta de las Cruces, held on May 3, and the Fiesta de la Virgen de la Canderlaria, a three-day romp that begins on February 2.

    Chile
  • 11. Parque Nacional Lauca

    On a plateau more than 4,000 meters (13,120 feet) above sea level, the magnificent Parque Nacional Lauca shelters flora and fauna found in few other places in the world, and rivals even Torres del Paine for its beauty. Cacti, grasses, and a brilliant emerald-green moss called llareta dot the landscape. Playful vizcacha—rabbitlike rodents with long tails—laze in the sun, and llamas, graceful vicuñas, and alpacas make their home here as well. About 10 km (6 miles) into the park is a CONAF station with informative brochures.

    Chile
    58-220--1201-in Arica

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free
  • 12. Playa Cavancha

    Just south of the city center on Avenida Balmaceda is Playa Cavancha, a long stretch of white, sandy beach that's great for families and often crowded. You can stroll along the boardwalk and touch the llamas and alpacas at the petting zoo. There's also a walk-through aquarium housing a group of yacares, small crocodiles that inhabit the rivers of Bolivia, Argentina, and Uruguay. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets. Best for: partiers; surfing; swimming.

    Iquique, Tarapacá, Chile
  • 13. Reserva Nacional Las Vicuñas

    Although it attracts far fewer visitors than neighboring Parque Nacional Lauca, Reserva Nacional Las Vicuñas contains some incredible sights—salt flats, high plains, and alpine lakes. And you can enjoy the vistas without running into buses full of tourists. The reserve, which stretches some 100 km (62 miles), has a huge herd of graceful vicuñas. Although quite similar to their larger cousins, llamas and alpacas, vicuñas have not been domesticated. Their incredibly soft wool, among the most prized in the world, led to so much hunting that these creatures were threatened with extinction, and today it is illegal to kill a vicuña. Getting to this reserve, unfortunately, is quite a challenge. There is no public transportation, and the roads are passable only in four-wheel-drive vehicles. Many people choose to take a tour out of Arica.

    Chile
  • 14. Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos

    Many of the most astounding sights in El Norte Grande lie within the boundaries of the protected Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos. This sprawling national reserve to the south and east of San Pedro encompasses a wide variety of geographical features, including alpine lakes, salt flats, and volcanoes. And of course, here is where you will find the most stunning collection of pink flamingos on the planet.

    1410000, Chile
  • 15. Salar de Atacama

    About 10 km (6 miles) south of San Pedro you arrive at the edge of Chile's largest salt flat. The rugged crust measuring 3,000 square km (1,158 square miles) formed when salty water flowing down from the Andes evaporated in the stifling heat of the desert. Unlike other salt flats, which are smooth surfaces of crystalline salt, the Salar de Atacama is a jumble of jagged rocks that look rather like coral. Laguna Chaxa, in the middle of Salar de Atacama, is a very salty lagoon that is home to three of the New World's four species of flamingos. The elegant pink-and-white birds are mirrored by the lake's glassy surface. Near Laguna Chaxa, beautiful plates of salt float on the calm surface of Laguna Salada. Visiting the salar is a half-day excursion from San Pedro and often better at sunset when the sky can paint pretty pink colors, reflected in the mirrorlike lagoons. Arrive early before the crowds scare off the birds, and bring your binoculars.

    Laguna Chaxa, San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta, 1410000, Chile
  • 16. Valle de la Luna

    This surreal landscape of barren ridges, soaring cliffs, sand dunes, and pale valleys could be from a canvas by Salvador Dalí. Originally a small corner of a vast inland sea, the valley rose up with the Andes. The water slowly drained away, leaving deposits of salt and gypsum that were folded by the shifting of the Earth's crust and then worn away by wind and rain. The vastness and grandeur of some of the formations is quite breathtaking, and listening carefully to the cracking of the salt crystals as the sun warms up and cools down the surfaces is awe-inspiring. Visiting the Valle de la Luna is fabulous at sunset, although this is also when truckloads of tourists arrive. So if you want the valley to yourself, visit in the morning when there is barely a soul there. You can visit by car, bike (bring a big hat for shade!), or horseback.

    San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta, 1410000, Chile

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: 3000 pesos
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  • 17. Aduana de Arica

    Across from the Parque General Baquedano, the Aduana de Arica, the city's former customs house, is one of Alexandre Gustave Eiffel's creations. It currently contains the town's cultural center, where you can find exhibits about northern Chile, old photographs of Arica, and works by local painters and sculptors.

    Arica, Arica y Parinacota, 1000000, Chile
    No phone

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free
  • 18. Altiplánico Lakes: Miscanti and Miñeques

    At more than 13,000 feet above sea level, these lakes are in a completely different climate than San Pedro below. The altiplánico has much more moisture in the air and while that means you are likely to experience rain and snow in certain seasons, it also means the area is alive with color and wildlife. The pastel-color backdrop is picture-perfect with the large blue lagoons and volcanoes in the distance. The largest of the lagoons is Miscanti, at 4,350-meter-high (14,270-foot-high), which merits a few moments of contemplation and is one of the prettiest spots in Atacama (on a sunny day). The smaller lake, Miñeques, is equally spectacular and is home to wildlife like vicuña and huge flocks of flamingos. The altiplánico lakes are usually a full-day excursion from San Pedro.

    Laguna Miscanti, San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta, 1410000, Chile
  • 19. Balneario Juan López

    The most popular beach is Balneario Juan López, a small strip of light sand near the center of town. It can get uncomfortably crowded in summer, but the water is warm and tranquil. Amenities: food and drink; parking; toilets. Best for: swimming.

    Juan López, Antofagasta, Chile
  • 20. Calle Baquedano

    Leading out from Plaza Prat is this pedestrian mall with wooden sidewalks. This is a great place for an afternoon stroll past some of Iquique's salitrera-era mansions or for a leisurely cappuccino in one of the many sidewalk cafés. An antique trolley runs the length of the mall.

    Iquique, Tarapacá, 1100000, Chile

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